George “Bud” Phillips has resigned as the commissioner of the Southern Buckeye Academic and Athletic Conference (SBC) after 20 years of service as its only commissioner.

“I got started when Mr. (Jim) Fite of the Clermont County Office (of Education) indicated there would be a commissioner hired for the new league,” he said.

The new league was the Southern Buckeye Conference that was a replacement for the old Clermont County League (CCL) that had lost three of its member schools (Amelia, Batavia, and Goshen) within the last two years of the CCL. When the CCL was concluded it was the second oldest high school athletic conference in Ohio after only the South Central Ohio League.

George

The CCL was organized on Sept. 5, 1919, at a meeting of the Clermont County Teacher's Institute that held its meeting that particular year in New Richmond. The charter members of the CCL were Amelia, Batavia, Bethel, Felicity, Loveland, Milford, Owensville, New Richmond, and Williamsburg high schools. Goshen joined in 1926, Moscow in 1928, Glen Este in 1963, and Western Brown in 1972. By reason of consolidation, Owensville became Clermont Northeastern in 1957. Little Miami participated in football, only, 1961-64. Loveland withdrew in the 1920s, Milford in 1942, New Richmond in 1955 (rejoining in 1968), Moscow in 1959 (its last year as a high school), Glen Este in 1967, Amelia and Batavia in 1985, and Goshen in 1986. Other schools outside of Clermont County's borders have joined and/or dropped out in recent years.

Phillips has been very pleased with his decision to have applied for and accepted the position as commissioner of the SBC.

"I enjoyed every minute of it, but now it's time to start working a rather large 'honey do' list. That and I want to enjoy my granddaughters and my wife and I want to do some vacationing."

Phillips and his wife, Mary Lou, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this month. They are the parents of two children, a son and a daughter.

Phillips, who today is a resident of Hillsboro, is from the Dayton area. He was born in Tennessee, but has spent most of his life in southwest Ohio. He graduated from Northridge High School in 1955 where he played football, basketball, baseball, and track. He graduated from Manchester (Ind.) College. He majored in health and physical education and minored in business.

He taught at Jefferson High School in the Dayton area and Greeneview High School in Jamestown, in west central Ohio. He coached football, basketball and track and field.

He was employed by the Ohio Department of Education for 38 years.

"I've been involved in athletics over 60 years," said the gentleman who has also served as an official in various sports and is well-respected by those with whom he has come in contact in the SBC and throughout the area.

"I thought long and hard about giving it up. This is bittersweet. . . What I'm going to miss the most is the people. I've met many wonderful people and made friends through my commissioner's job," he said.